PD Assignment 3

1. Reflection:

In their personal reflection time, both Gina and Malik made some realizations. Gina
realized the most once she was able to calm down and clear her head. She realized that
she was being petty and immature with her gossip actions. She also remembered that
Malik is new to the company and country so she may have jumped to the wrong
conclusions in the heat of the moment. In the end she decided that she should have a
conversation with Malik to understand him better one on one. Even if he does turn out to
be sexist or to dislike her, they still may be able to find a sense of common ground so
they will be able to work together to achieve success with their project together. She
chose to put her responsibilities as project lead above her personal feelings and initial
judgements. Malik decided to try and communicate directly with Gina to understand
where she is coming from. He was unsure how much faith to put in the rumour mill that
the gossip was originating from Gina and tried to give her benefit of the doubt. He also
wanted to ensure that he had not accidentally sad or done anything that upset Gina since
he never intended to and wanted to fit in with the company.

2. Dialogue:

Malik: Hi Gina, I’ve noticed lately that you seem upset with me. Did I do something
wrong?

Gina: Oh, hello Malik…. I was not upset with you and I am sorry that it came off that
way. I was feeling frustrated that you seemed to completely ignore me at the management
meeting last week.

Malik: I was not ignoring you Gina, I greatly value your opinion and I know it is crucial
for us to work together for this project.

Gina: Well it felt like you were only talking to Aaliya and were not listening to what I
had to say and what I wanted. This was very hurtful to me because I have preparing for
this new project for a long time and it felt as though you were coming in and trying to
take over.

Malik: I am not trying to take over! I just have great respect for Aaliya since she is our
supervisor. Where I am from, your superiors deserve the utmost respect and the most
important. I meant it as no disrespect for you. I was just trying to make sure Aaliya was
able to see how much I respect her, especially since I am new and she still does not know
me much yet.

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 Gina: Oh I see, I had no clue that that is so important to you. I took it personally.

Malik: I meant absolutely no disrespect to you! I really want us to be able to work well
together and complete this project successfully.

Gina: Me as well. I have been working towards this for a long time and I will not be able
to do it without you.

Malik: I am glad we can agree on this Gina.

Gina: I must apologize, Malik. I read into your actions incorrectly and took it to heart
which caused me to lash out. I am very sorry for gossiping about you. It was very petty
and I do not want you to think less of me because of my immature actions.

Malik: It was very hurtful to hear what you said about me, especially since it was so far
from the truth. I do not want my reputation to be ruined before I really get a chance to
show people the true me.

Gina: I understand that now. I am so very sorry Malik. I will talk to everyone I talked to
and explain that I was wrong and lying. I am sure once everyone sees how well we work
together and the great success of this project, they will see that you are a great person and
worker.

Malik: Thank you Gina, I really appreciate that.

3. Analysis

My dialogue ensured the conversation felt safe emotionally and physically for both
parties by allowing each to come in with a calm and open mind, willing to understand
the other. They both came in wanting to hear what the other had to say and put their egos
aside. They did not let their emotions run the dialogue. The intentactioneffect helped the
parties understand each other better because each was able to share their feelings and
have them be acknowledged and validated by the other. Both parties owned up to their
actions that lead up to the conflict and were appropriately apologetic for their actions.
Their common interest of wanting to be able to work together towards the common goal
of having a good working relationship in the best interests of the project that they are
both working on. They shifted their thinking by understanding their cultural differences
and each other’s goals. Gina know is aware of and understands Malik’s cultural values
that lead him to focus his attention to Aaliya as it is very important for him to show
respect to his supervisor. Malik now understands how his focus on Aaliya lead Gina to
feel disrespected and ignored and will be aware of this in future meetings. The action
they arrived at of understanding each other and agreeing to work together to achieve

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 greatness will help them avoid similar conflict as they now both know that the other is no
longer taking things as personally and is instead focusing on their projects goals. In order
for the two to get back in stride, they will need to take advantage of all opportunities to
show that they have heard what the other had to say and are now aware of how best to
accommodate for the other’s feelings. Gina will do her best to fix the issues that she
caused with her gossiping and be a supporter for Malik within their workplace
community. Malik will use management meetings to show respect to Aaliya while still
acknowledging Gina’s presence and input. Things may not be perfectly okay immediately
after this conversation, however, with time and effort from both, they can certainly move
past this initial “blip” in what can be a great work partnership, and potentially friendship.

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